"Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts." (W.B.)

Ren Faire costume, last update

So! We went to the Tennessee Renaissance Fair a few weeks ago, and I have forgotten to post pictures until now. It was astonishingly and refreshingly cool the weekend that we went, which meant that I got to wear my cloak without getting hot. I meant to take more pictures, but it was a lot more crowded this year than last year and I tend to get overwhelmed in crowds, so mainly just didn’t want to add an extra “thing” (taking pictures). Not a good excuse, but whatever. Most of these pictures below were taken right before we left, actually (except this one, which was taken at Castle Gwynn).

So! Here is the costume. I made the skirt out of sheets from Southern Thrift. I made the brown dress part from a size 4XL dress I found, also at Southern Thrift; I cut it down the middle, hemmed both sides, added eyelets to the top, and took in the sides. I made the cloak last year, of course. I made the waist cincher from a roll of leather…cut my pieces, added eyelets, and then found a book of renaissance designs on archive.gov, printed one out, and traced it onto the leather. I ended up stitching MOST of it, and then adding some gold highlights. Also threw together a quick belt made of the same leather, for carrying around my pouch (made from deer skin leather), and the dagger and mug that I bought on-site.

SO! I thought it turned out really well!! And I would really like to be able to wear this in public without going to LARPing events. Maybe we should start taking road trips to ren faires in nearby cities. I hear Atlanta has a pretty great one, actually…..